Twifo was an early

Akan Akan may refer to: People and languages *Akan people, an ethnic group in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire *Akan languages, a language group within the wider Central Tano languages *Kwa languages, a language group which includes Akan *Central Tano language ...

state established during the initial Akan settlement of the

Adansi Adanse or Adansi is one of the earliest Akan states, located in the southern part of present-day Ashanti Region, Ghana. Widely regarded in oral tradition as a spiritual and ancestral homeland of many Akan polities, Adansi was an early center of ...

forest. As the Akan expanded southward, the Twifo emerged as one of the key inland gold-producing polities. By the early 16th century, European sources identified Twifo as a prominent gold trading state located near the forest zone, with its early capital at Hemang. European traders noted the high quality of gold from this region and referred to the people by various names, likely corrupted attempts to render "Twifo."

History

Twifo oral traditions maintain that their ancestors migrated from the

Bono state Bono State (also known as Bonoman) was the first centralized Akan state, founded by the Bono people in what is now central Ghana. Bonoman is generally considered a cultural, political ancestor and origin to Akan subgroups that migrated southwar ...

through the

region and settled near the Ofin and later the Pra River, establishing themselves around Hemang. Over time, they welcomed other Akan groups, and many of these new arrivals adopted the name "Twifo." In the 17th century, Twifo played a prominent role in regional politics and trade. According to F. K. Buah, their settlement predates most other Akan states in the Central Region, and by the 1600s, they had encountered and eventually absorbed groups such as Mokwaa, Hemang, and Afutuakwa, who were of

Etsi The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) is an independent, not-for-profit, standardization organization operating in the field of Information and communications technology, information and communications. ETSI supports the de ...

origin. Twifo fought alongside the Dutch in the first Komenda War and later allied with the

Fante Confederacy The Fante Confederacy (also called a confederation, federation, and other similar terms) powerful alliance of small kingdoms and autonomous city-states in what is now coastal Ghana, united by the Fante people. Centered on the political and spiri ...

to counter the rising threat of

Asante Asante may refer to: *Asante people, an ethnic group in Ghana *Asante Empire *Asante (name) *Asante dialect, a dialect of the Akan languages * Asante Kotoko S.C., a Ghanaian professional association football club *Asante (album), 1974 jazz album b ...

expansion.

Twifo Divisions

Morkwa

Led by Nana Amo Kwaw, the Morkwa crossed the Pra River and settled in proximity to the established Twifo Hemang kingdom. Though they came later, they adopted the Twifo identity and maintained close ties with the Hemang polity.

Mampong, Tufoe, and Hemang

Under Nana Ampontenfi, the Mampong group migrated from Asante Nkawie and initially settled at Jukwa. Around 1831, they formally negotiated land rights with the Hemang authorities, eventually becoming tributary settlers and adopting the Twifo name.

Legacy

By the 19th century, the Twifo polity had fragmented into distinct traditional divisions, but its identity persisted. Today, the major Twifo groupings include Twifo Hemang,

Twifo Mampong Twifo was an early Akan people, Akan state established during the initial Akan settlement of the Adansi forest. As the Akan expanded southward, the Twifo emerged as one of the key inland gold-producing polities. By the early 16th century, Eur ...

, Tufoe, and Twifo-Ati Morkwa

Sources

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References

Former countries in Africa Geography of Ghana {{Africa-hist-stub